Author: joepastry

Pass the Funyuns, Kemosabe

Reader Sal (love that name) wants to know what sort of camping I’m talking about here. Backpacking? Car camping? RV camping? That’s a fair question, Sal, as the equipment kit and larder capacity is different for each of them. I’m going to pick the middle road and say car camping, since that’s what Boy Scouts and Girls Scouts do, and it’s what I do with the family when I simply can’t resist their pleas any longer. We’ll assume everyone will have access to cooking gear and will have a cooler of the usual store-bought foods with them.

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The Existing Camper’s Inventory

Before I start logging new ’round-the-campfire pastries I thought a good first step would be to inventory the camping-friendly recipes that are already on the blog. Indeed there are quite a few, especially if you count the make-ahead cookies and cakes. However I realize that part of the fun of campfire cuisine is actually assembling and cooking the whatever-it-is on the fire.

S’mores are of course an American classic. Strawberry shortcake is another time-tested campfire delicacy, and it can be easily made with packaged biscuits in a Dutch or cardboard box oven.

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Why is Iodine Important?

Reader Zoe writes:

I’ve been interested to read some of the comments on the subject of iodine and salt. I’ve always noticed that salt is “iodized” but have wondered why that’s important. Can you go into the subject a little? I’d be interested to read more.

Zoe, you never have to prod me too much to delve into a topic like this. Since we’ve been flirting with various subjects related to diet and health this past week, it only makes sense. Commercially made table salt is iodized by law in the US. It’s natural to wonder why.

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This week is camping week.

I’ll admit I’m not a big fan of camping. Oh I like the outdoors plenty, I just have bad associations with tents and sleeping bags. Being the nerd in my scout troop I was always the kid whose backpack got filled with rocks, or who climbed into his sleeping bag only to find someone had put a hundred of those little restaurant butter pats inside. Hey, you try sleeping in 40-degree weather when you’re greased from head to toe, OK?

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On-the-Edge Q & A

Reader Silviu writes:

Reading [your posts on Michael Pollan] leaves me wondering what’s your approach to ingredients and food in general? Do you fit in any particular category (organic, local, etc.)? Do you have some never-touch-that rules? What do you think of sugar and pastry (I mean pastry is mostly not pastry without sugar)? I’d love to read a whole post on this.

Silviu, I try not to touch hot-button questions like this since they often lead to go-nowhere comment field combat, a lot like the trench warfare at Ypres. In the end, after all the shells and noxious gasses have been released, little has been accomplished and nothing has changed. But since you asked I’ll go for it. Briefly.

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Making Sunshine Cake

What do you do after you’ve made angel food cake and you have a dozen yolks left? Make sunshine cake of course. My grandmother — who called this “gold cake” — always did and it looked pretty much exactly like this, colonnade frosting and all. You make this cake in very much the same fashion you do angel food cake, save for the fact you need baking powder to help raise it. Start by getting your ingredients together, preheating your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, and preparing your pan.

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Making Colonnade Frosting

The amazing thing about this frosting is that while it looks like a standard seven-minute frosting it behaves much, much differently. Whereas seven-minute frosting hardens to a stiff meringue-like consistency almost immediately after it’s made and applied, this stays smooth and spreadable — even after several days in the refrigerator. That makes it somewhat dangerous since leftover frosting is wicked good on a vanilla wafer, or two, or three…

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Well dang…

My gold cake fell. Why did this happen? Because I over-whipped my egg yolk foam. Though you wouldn’t think it, egg yolks and liquid can be whipped to a very high foam — at least temporarily. And it doesn’t need to be any special liquid, water will do. It’s all those emulsifiers in egg yolks, donchaknow…they create a thick lipid-water mixture that (at least temporarily) reinforces air bubble walls.

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Can sugar really “cook” egg yolks?

Reader Lily writes:

Joe, the other day I left some egg yolks that I was about to whip into pastry cream sitting in a bowl with some sugar for too long. The yolk sides that were touching the sugar turned pale and hard. My instructor said that it was caused by sugar cooking the eggs because sugar and yolks together create heat. I’m skeptical, but what do you think?

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